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Deploying F5 with Oracle Application Server 10g

DEPLOYMENT GUIDEVersion 1.1

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Important: This guide has been archived. While the content in this guide is still valid for the products and versions listed in the document, it is no longer being updated and may refer to F5 or third party products or versions that have reached end-of-life or end-of-support. For a list of current guides, see https://f5.com/solutions/deployment-guides.

Table of Contents

F5 Deployment Guide i

Table of Contents

Introducing the F5 and Oracle 10g configuration Prerequisites and configuration notes ..............................................................................1-1Configuration example .........................................................................................................1-2

Configuring the BIG-IP LTM system for deployment with Oracle 10g ..............................1-3Prerequisites and configuration notes ..............................................................................1-3Connecting to the BIG-IP device .......................................................................................1-4

Configuring the BIG-IP LTM for Oracle 10g Portal ................................................................1-4Creating a HTTP health monitor .......................................................................................1-4Creating the Oracle 10g Portal pool .................................................................................1-6Creating Oracle 10g Portal profiles ..................................................................................1-7Creating the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server ............................................................. 1-11Optional: Configuring the BIG-IP LTM to offload SSL ............................................... 1-13

Configuring the BIG-IP LTM for Oracle 10g Single Sign-On server ................................ 1-16Creating a HTTP health monitor .................................................................................... 1-16Creating the pool ................................................................................................................ 1-16Creating the Profiles .......................................................................................................... 1-16Creating the Single Sign-On virtual server .................................................................... 1-17

Modifying the Oracle 10g configuration ................................................................................. 1-17Modifying the Oracle 10g Portal configuration ............................................................ 1-17Modifying the Oracle 10g Single Sign-On configuration ............................................ 1-22Configuring Oracle 10g Portal to use the new SSO URL ......................................... 1-26

Appendix A: Backing up and restoring the BIG-IP system configuration ........................ 1-28Saving and restoring the BIG-IP configuration ............................................................. 1-28

Configuring the BIG-IP WebAccelerator module for accelerating Oracle AS 10g Prerequisites and configuration notes ..............................................................................2-1Configuration example .........................................................................................................2-1Configuring the WebAccelerator module .......................................................................2-2Creating an HTTP Class profile .........................................................................................2-2Modifying the Virtual Server to use the Class profile ...................................................2-3Creating an Application ........................................................................................................2-4

Deploying the FirePass controller with Oracle AS 10g Prerequisites and configuration notes ..............................................................................3-1Configuration scenario .........................................................................................................3-1Configuring the FirePass controller for deployment with Oracle Application Server 10g .............................................................................................................................................3-2Connecting to the FirePass controller ..............................................................................3-2Creating groups on the FirePass controller ....................................................................3-2Limiting access for the Partner group ...............................................................................3-7Configuring Endpoint security ............................................................................................3-8Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 3-14

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• Configuring the BIG-IP LTM for Oracle 10g Portal

• Configuring the BIG-IP LTM for Oracle 10g Single Sign-On server

• Modifying the Oracle 10g configuration

Introducing the F5 and Oracle 10g configurationWelcome to the F5 and Oracle® Application Server 10g Deployment Guide. When deployed with Oracle Application Server 10g, the F5 system ensures secure, fast and always available access for applications running on Oracle.

Oracle 10g meets customers' demand for up-to-date business information with reliable, scalable and cost-effective grid computing. With grid computing, organizations can leverage the use of many low-cost, modular servers acting as one computer, making their applications more scalable and less expensive to deploy and manage.

For more information on F5 products, see http://www.f5.com/products/.

For more information on Oracle 10g, see http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/index.html.

This Deployment Guide contains procedures for configuring the BIG-IP LTM system, the BIG-IP LTM system with SSL, the F5 WebAccelerator module, and the FirePass controller. While we recommend using all of these products together with Oracle 10g, it is not required. Simply use the sections for the products you have. This guide is broken up into the following chapters:

◆ Configuring the BIG-IP LTM system for deployment with Oracle 10g, on page 1-3

◆ Configuring the BIG-IP WebAccelerator module for accelerating Oracle Application Server 10g, on page 2-1

◆ Deploying the FirePass controller with Oracle Application Server 10g, on page 3-1

Prerequisites and configuration notesThe following are general prerequisites for this deployment; each section contains specific prerequisites:

◆ You must have an existing Oracle 10g deployment.

◆ This guide contains configuration procedures for both F5 devices and Oracle 10g devices. You need administrative access to all devices. You also need command line administrative access to the Oracle 10g devices.

Product versions and revision historyProduct and versions tested for this deployment guide:

Product Tested Version Tested

BIG-IP LTM v9.4.8

Oracle Application Server 10g 10.1.2.0.2

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jordan

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This guide has been archived. For a list of current guides, see https://f5.com/solutions/deployment-guides


Configuration exampleThe BIG-IP system provides intelligent traffic management and fail-over for Oracle 10g Web and Application servers. Through advanced health checking capabilities, the BIG-IP product recognizes when resources are unavailable or under-performing and directs traffic to another resource. The BIG-IP product can also track Oracle Application Server 10g end-user sessions, enabling the application server to maintain client session data. The following diagram shows an example deployment with Oracle 10g and the BIG-IP system.

Figure 1.1 BIG-IP Oracle 10g logical configuration example

Document Version Description

1.0 New guide

1.1 Specified Oracle version tested in table above. Corrected an incorrect reference to Oracle Single-Sign On server with the correct reference to Oracle Portal in Registering the SSO server as a Partner Application, on page 1-24.

Firewalls

Internet

Oracle AS 10g Portal

BIG-IP System

Oracle AS 10g Single Sign-On

Oracle AS 10g Application Servers

Oracle AS 10g Database Servers

F5 Deployment Guide 1 - 2

Configuring the BIG-IP LTM system for deployment with Oracle 10g

To configure the BIG-IP LTM system for directing traffic to the Oracle servers, you need to complete the following procedures:

• Configuring the BIG-IP LTM for Oracle 10g Portal

• Configuring the BIG-IP LTM for Oracle 10g Single Sign-On server


Tip

We recommend you save your existing BIG-IP configuration before you begin the procedures in this Deployment Guide. To save your BIG-IP configuration, see Appendix A: Backing up and restoring the BIG-IP system configuration, on page 1-28.

The BIG-IP LTM system offers both web-based and command line configuration tools, so that users can work in the environment that they are most comfortable with. This Deployment Guide contains procedures to configure the BIG-IP system using the BIG-IP web-based Configuration utility only. If you are familiar with using the bigpipe command line interface you can use the command line to configure the BIG-IP device, however, we recommend using the Configuration utility.

Prerequisites and configuration notesThe following are prerequisites this section of the Deployment Guide.

◆ This section contains configuration procedures for both F5 devices and the Oracle 10g devices. You must have administrative access to all devices. You also need command line administrative access to the Oracle 10g devices.

◆ The BIG-IP LTM system should be running version 9.4 or later. If you are using a previous 9.x version, the procedures in this Deployment Guide are valid, however some of the examples in this guide use optimized parent profiles introduced in version 9.4 and later. To use these profiles you must either be running LTM version 9.4, or refer to the Configuration Guide for BIG-IP Local Traffic Management for version 9.4 (available on AskF5), which shows the configuration differences between the base profiles and the optimized profile types.

Note

This document is written with the assumption that you are familiar with both the BIG-IP LTM system and Oracle Application Server 10g. For more information on configuring these products, consult the appropriate documentation.

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Connecting to the BIG-IP deviceUse the following procedure to access the BIG-IP web-based Configuration utility using a web browser.

To connect to the BIG-IP system using the Configuration utility

1. In a browser, type the following URL:https://<administrative IP address of the BIG-IP device>A Security Alert dialog box appears, click Yes.The authorization dialog box appears.

2. Type your user name and password, and click OK. The Welcome screen opens.

Once you are logged onto the BIG-IP system, the Welcome screen of the new Configuration utility opens. From the Configuration utility, you can configure and monitor the BIG-IP system, as well as access online help, download SNMP MIBs and Plug-ins, and even search for specific objects.

Configuring the BIG-IP LTM for Oracle 10g PortalIn this section, we configure the BIG-IP LTM system to direct traffic to the Oracle 10g Portal devices. After completing the BIG-IP LTM configuration, there are additional procedures to perform on the Oracle 10g portal devices.

To configure the BIG-IP LTM system for the Oracle Portal, you must complete the following procedures:

• Creating a HTTP health monitor

• Creating the Oracle 10g Portal pool

• Creating Oracle 10g Portal profiles

• Creating the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server

• Optional: Configuring the BIG-IP LTM to offload SSL


Creating a HTTP health monitorThe first step is to set up a health monitor for the Oracle Portal devices. This procedure is optional, but very strongly recommended. For this configuration, we create a simple HTTP health monitor. Although the monitor in the following example is quite simple, you can configure optional settings such as Send and Receive Strings to make the monitor much more specific.


To configure a HTTP health monitor

1. On the Main tab, expand Local Traffic, and then click Monitors.The Monitors screen opens.

2. Click the Create button.The New Monitor screen opens.

3. In the Name box, type a name for the Monitor.In our example, we type oracle10g-portal-http.

4. From the Type list, select HTTP.The HTTP Monitor configuration options appear.

5. In the Configuration section, in the Interval and Timeout boxes, type an Interval and Timeout. We recommend at least a 1:3 +1 ratio between the interval and the timeout (for example, the default setting has an interval of 5 and an timeout of 16). In our example, we use a Interval of 30 and a Timeout of 91.

6. In the Send String and Receive Rule sections, you can add an optional Send String and Receive Rule specific to the device being checked.

7. Click the Finished button (see Figure 1.2).The new monitor is added to the Monitor list.

Figure 1.2 Creating the HTTP Monitor

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Creating the Oracle 10g Portal poolThe next step is to create a pool on the BIG-IP LTM system for the Oracle 10g Portal devices. A BIG-IP pool is a set of devices grouped together to receive traffic according to a load balancing method.

To create the Oracle10g Portal pool

1. On the Main tab, expand Local Traffic, and then click Pools.The Pool screen opens.

2. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button. The New Pool screen opens.

Note: For more (optional) pool configuration settings, from the Configuration list, select Advanced. Configure these settings as applicable for your network.

3. In the Name box, enter a name for your pool. In our example, we use oracle10g-portal.

4. In the Health Monitors section, select the name of the monitor you created in the Creating a HTTP health monitor section, and click the Add (<<) button. In our example, we select oracle10g-portal-http.

5. From the Load Balancing Method list, choose your preferred load balancing method (different load balancing methods may yield optimal results for a particular network).In our example, we select Least Connections (node).

6. For this pool, we leave the Priority Group Activation Disabled.

7. In the New Members section, make sure the New Address option button is selected.

8. In the Address box, add the first server to the pool. In our example, we type 10.133.17.110.

9. In the Service Port box, type the appropriate port for your Portal server. In our example, we type 7778, the default port for Oracle 10g Portal.

10. Click the Add button to add the member to the list.

11. Repeat steps 9-11 for each server you want to add to the pool. In our example, we repeat these steps once for 10.133.17.111.

12. Click the Finished button (see Figure 1.3).


Figure 1.3 Creating the pool for the Oracle 10g Portal

Creating Oracle 10g Portal profilesBIG-IP version 9.0 and later use profiles. A profile is an object that contains user-configurable settings for controlling the behavior of a particular type of network traffic, such as HTTP connections. Using profiles enhances your control over managing network traffic, and makes traffic-management tasks easier and more efficient.

Although it is possible to use the default profiles, we strongly recommend you create new profiles based on the default parent profiles, even if you do not change any of the settings initially. Creating new profiles allows you to easily modify the profile settings specific to this deployment, and ensures you do not accidentally overwrite the default profile.

For the Oracle Portal configuration, we create five new profiles: an HTTP profile, two TCP profiles, a persistence profile, and a OneConnect profile. If you plan on using the BIG-IP LTM system to offload SSL from the Portal devices, make sure to see Creating a Client SSL profile.

These profiles use new optimized profiles available in BIG-IP LTM version 9.4 and later. If you are using a BIG-IP LTM version prior to 9.4, the Configuration Guide for BIG-IP Local Traffic Management for version 9.4 (available on AskF5) shows the differences between the base profiles and the optimized profile types. Use this guide to manually configure the optimization settings.

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Creating an HTTP profileThe first new profile we create is an HTTP profile. The HTTP profile contains numerous configuration options for how the BIG-IP LTM system handles HTTP traffic. For deployments where the majority of users accessing Oracle Portal are connecting across a WAN, F5 recommends enabling compression and caching on the BIG-IP LTM by using a profile introduced in BIG-IP version 9.4 called http-wan-optimized-compression-caching. This profile uses specific compression and caching (among other) settings to optimize traffic over the WAN. Note that to properly use this profile, you need to have compression and caching licensed on the BIG-IP LTM. For more information on licensing, contact your sales representative.

If you are not using version 9.4, or do not have compression or caching licensed, you can choose the default HTTP parent profile, or one of the other optimized HTTP parent profiles.

To create a new HTTP profile

1. On the Main tab, expand Local Traffic, and then click Profiles.The HTTP Profiles screen opens.

2. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button. The New HTTP Profile screen opens.

3. In the Name box, type a name for this profile. In our example, we type oracle10g-http-opt.

4. From the Parent Profile list, select http-wan-optimized-compression-caching. The profile settings appear.

5. Check the Custom box for Content Compression, and leave Content List selected.

6. In the Content List section, add the following items to the existing entries in the Content Type box one at a time, each followed by clicking Include:

• application/pdf

• application/vnd.ms-powerpoint

• application/vnd.ms-excel

• application/msword

• application/vnd.ms-publisher

We add these MIME types to ensure these highly compressible document types are compressed.

7. Modify any of the other settings as applicable for your network. In our example, we leave the settings at their default levels.

8. Click the Finished button.


Creating the TCP profilesThe next profiles we create are the TCP profiles. If most of the Oracle 10g Portal users are accessing the portal via a Local Area Network, we recommend using the tcp-lan-optimized (for server-side TCP connections) parent profile. If the majority of the Portal users are accessing the system from remote or home offices, we recommend using an additional TCP profile, called tcp-wan-optimized (for client side TCP connections). In our example, we leave these profiles at their default levels; you can configure any of the options as applicable for your network.

Creating the LAN optimized TCP profileFirst we configure the LAN optimized profile. If you are not using version 9.4 or do not want to use this optimized profile, you can choose the default TCP parent profile.

To create a new TCP profile


2. On the Menu bar, from the Protocol menu, click tcp.

3. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button. The New TCP Profile screen opens.

4. In the Name box, type a name for this profile. In our example, we type oracle10g-tcp-lan.

5. From the Parent Profile list, select tcp-lan-optimized if you are using BIG-IP LTM version 9.4 or later; otherwise select tcp.

6. Modify any of the settings as applicable for your network. In our example, we leave the settings at their default levels.


Creating the WAN optimized TCP profileNow we configure the WAN optimized profile. Remember, if most of the users are accessing the system over the LAN or other low latency links, you do not need to create this profile.

To create a new TCP WAN optimized profile


2. On the Menu bar, from the Protocol menu, click tcp.

3. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button. The New TCP Profile screen opens.

4. In the Name box, type a name for this profile. In our example, we type oracle10g-tcp-wan.

5. From the Parent Profile list, select tcp-wan-optimized.

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Creating persistence profileThe final profile we create is a Persistence profile. We recommend using persistence for the Oracle Web Tier, although the type of persistence depends on your configuration. In our example, use cookie persistence (HTTP cookie insert).

To create a new cookie persistence profile based on the default profile


2. On the Menu bar, click Persistence.The Persistence Profiles screen opens.

3. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button. The New Persistence Profile screen opens.

4. In the Name box, type a name for this profile. In our example, we type oracle10g-cookie.

5. From the Persistence Type list, select Cookie.The configuration options for cookie persistence appear.



Figure 1.4 Creating the cookie persistence profile


Creating a OneConnect profileThe next profile we create is a OneConnect profile. With OneConnect enabled, client requests can utilize existing, server-side connections, thus reducing the number of server-side connections that a server must open to service those requests. This can provide significant performance improvements for Oracle implementations. For more information on OneConnect, see the BIG-IP LTM documentation.

In our example, we leave all the options at their default settings. You can configure these options as appropriate for your network.

To create a new OneConnect profile


2. On the Menu bar, from the Other menu, click OneConnect.The Persistence Profiles screen opens.

3. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button. The New HTTP Profile screen opens.

4. In the Name box, type a name for this profile. In our example, we type oracle10g-oneconnect.

5. From the Parent Profile list, ensure that oneconnect is selected.

6. Modify any of the other settings as applicable for your network. In our example, we leave the settings at their default levels.


Creating the Oracle 10g Portal virtual serverNext, we configure a virtual server that references the profiles and pool you created in the preceding procedures.

To create the virtual server

1. On the Main tab, expand Local Traffic, and then click Virtual Servers.The Virtual Servers screen opens.

2. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button. The New Virtual Server screen opens.

3. In the Name box, type a name for this virtual server. In our example, we type oracle10g-portal-vs.

4. In the Destination section, select the Host option button.

5. In the Address box, type the IP address of this virtual server. In our example, we use 10.133.100.201

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6. In the Service Port box, type 80.

Figure 1.5 Creating the Oracle Portal virtual server

7. From the Configuration list, select Advanced.The Advanced configuration options appear.

8. Leave the Type list at the default setting: Standard.

9. From the Protocol Profile (Client) list select the name of the profile you created in the Creating the WAN optimized TCP profile section. If you did not create a WAN optimized profile, select the LAN optimized profile as in the following Step. In our example, we select oracle10g-tcp-wan.

10. From the Protocol Profile (Server) list, select the name of the profile you created in the Creating the LAN optimized TCP profile section. In our example, we select oracle10g-tcp-lan.

11. From the OneConnect Profile list, select the name of the profile you created in Creating a OneConnect profile. In our example, we select oracle10g-oneconnect.

12. From the HTTP Profile list, select the name of the profile you created in the Creating an HTTP profile section. In our example, we select oracle10g-http-opt (see Figure 1.6).

Figure 1.6 Selecting the Oracle 10g profiles for the virtual server


13. In the Resources section, from the Default Pool list, select the pool you created in the Creating the Oracle 10g Portal pool section. In our example, we select oracle10g-portal-http.

14. From the Default Persistence Profile list, select the persistence profile you created in the Creating persistence profile section. In our example, we select oracle10g-cookie.

Figure 1.7 Adding the Pool and Persistence profile to the virtual server

15. Click the Finished button.The BIG-IP LTM configuration for the Oracle Portal configuration is now complete.

After completing the BIG-IP LTM configuration, there are changes you need to make for Oracle 10g Portal in the Oracle 10g configuration. We recommend completely configuring the BIG-IP LTM system before making changes to the Oracle configuration. When you have completed the BIG-IP LTM configuration, see Modifying the Oracle 10g Portal configuration, on page 1-18.

Optional: Configuring the BIG-IP LTM to offload SSL If you are using the BIG-IP LTM system to offload SSL from the Oracle 10g Portal devices, there are additional configuration procedures you must perform on the BIG-IP LTM system.

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Using SSL certificates and keysBefore you can enable the BIG-IP LTM system to act as an SSL proxy, you must install a SSL certificate on the virtual server that you wish to use for Oracle 10g connections on the BIG-IP LTM device. For this Deployment Guide, we assume that you already have obtained an SSL certificate, but it is not yet installed on the BIG-IP LTM system. For information on generating certificates, or using the BIG-IP LTM to generate a request for a new certificate and key from a certificate authority, see the Managing SSL Traffic chapter in the Configuration Guide for Local Traffic Management.

Importing keys and certificatesOnce you have obtained a certificate, you can import this certificate into the BIG-IP LTM system using the Configuration utility. By importing a certificate or archive into the Configuration utility, you ease the task of managing that certificate or archive. You can use the Import SSL Certificates and Keys screen only when the certificate you are importing is in Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) format.

To import a key or certificate

1. On the Main tab, expand Local Traffic.

2. Click SSL Certificates. The list of existing certificates displays.

3. In the upper right corner of the screen, click Import.

4. From the Import Type list, select the type of import (Certificate or Key).

5. In the Certificate (or Key) Name box, type a unique name for the certificate or key.

6. In the Certificate (or Key) Source box, choose to either upload the file or paste the text.

7. Click Import.

If you imported the certificate, repeat this procedure for the key.

Creating a Client SSL profileThe next step in this configuration is to create a Client SSL profile. This profile contains the SSL certificate and Key information for offloading the SSL traffic.

To create a new Client SSL profile based on the default profile

1. On the Main tab, expand Local Traffic.

2. Click Profiles.The HTTP Profiles screen opens.

3. On the Menu bar, from the SSL menu, select Client.The Client SSL Profiles screen opens.


4. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button.The New Client SSL Profile screen opens.

5. In the Name box, type a name for this profile. In our example, we type oracle10g-clientssl.

6. In the Configuration section, check the Certificate and Key Custom boxes.

7. From the Certificate list, select the name of the Certificate you imported in the Importing keys and certificates section.

8. From the Key list, select the key you imported in the Importing keys and certificates section.


Modifying the Oracle 10g Portal virtual serverThe next task is to modify the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server you created to use the SSL profile you just created.

To modify the existing Oracle 10g Portal virtual server

1. On the Main tab, expand Local Traffic, and then click Virtual Servers. The Virtual Servers screen opens.

2. From the Virtual Server list, click the Oracle Portal virtual server you created in Creating the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server, on page 1-11. In our example, we click oracle10g-portal-vs.

3. In the Service Port box, type 443, or select HTTPS from the list.

4. From the SSL Profile (Client) list, select the name of the profile you created in Creating a Client SSL profile, on page 1-14. In our example, we select oracle10g-clientssl

5. Click the Update button.

If you are using the BIG-IP LTM system to offload SSL from Oracle 10g Portal devices, make sure to follow the notes about SSL offload when performing the Oracle configuration modifications in Modifying the Oracle 10g Portal configuration, on page 1-18

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Configuring the BIG-IP LTM for Oracle 10g Single Sign-On server

The next group of objects we configure on the BIG-IP LTM system is for the Oracle 10g Single Sign-On (SSO) devices. The BIG-IP LTM configuration for SSO is very similar to the configuration for portal, so in the following sections, we reference the procedures from the Portal section.

You must configure the following objects on the BIG-IP LTM system:

• Creating a HTTP health monitor

• Creating the pool

• Creating the Profiles

• Creating the Single Sign-On virtual server

In many cases, you can use the same objects for both Oracle Portal and Oracle SSO (such as the health monitor and profiles), however, we strongly recommend you create new objects for each Oracle component.

Creating a HTTP health monitorThe first task is to create a health monitor for the SSO devices. Follow the procedure Creating a HTTP health monitor, on page 4. Use a unique name for the monitor, and use the same a 1:3 +1 ratio between the interval and the timeout. All other settings are optional, configure as applicable for your configuration.

Creating the poolThe next task is to create a pool for the SSO devices. Follow the procedure Creating the Oracle 10g Portal pool, on page 6. Type a unique name for the pool, configure the pool to use the health monitor you just created, and add the appropriate SSO address and port. All other settings are optional, configure as applicable for your configuration.

Creating the ProfilesAs with the Portal configuration, you create the five profiles for Oracle Single Sign-On: HTTP, two TCP profiles, OneConnect, and Persistence. However, because Single Sign-On should be over SSL, you need to create a Client SSL profile as well.

You can use the same profiles you created for the Portal configuration, but we strongly recommend you create new profiles. By creating new profiles for each Oracle component, it makes it much easier to fine tune optimization and other settings for specific applications.


Create all five profiles in Creating Oracle 10g Portal profiles, on page 7, giving each a unique name. You can change any of the options as applicable for your network.

Additionally, follow the procedure Creating a Client SSL profile, on page 14. If you are importing a new certificate and key, follow Importing keys and certificates, on page 14.

Creating the Single Sign-On virtual serverThe final step is to create a virtual server for the Oracle SSO devices. Follow the procedure Creating the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server, on page 11. Give this virtual server a unique name, and use the appropriate address and port (443), and configure the virtual server to use all of the objects you created in the preceding procedures.

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Modifying the Oracle 10g configurationWith the BIG-IP LTM configuration complete, there are now modifications to the Oracle 10g configuration that need to be made in order for traffic to resolve and flow properly.

Modifying the Oracle 10g Portal configurationThe first task is to modify the Oracle 10g Portal configuration. To modify the 10g Portal configuration, you need to perform the following procedures:

• Disabling Web Cache

• Changing the default port

• Adding the virtual host entry for the BIG-IP LTM virtual server

• Making sure the server responds on port 80

You must perform these procedures on each Oracle AS 10g Portal server.

Disabling Web CacheBecause the caching duties in this configuration are handled by the BIG-IP LTM system, we disable the Oracle 10g Web Cache. This frees the servers you would normally use for the Web Cache devices to run other Oracle applications.

To disable the Oracle Web Cache

1. Log on to your Oracle Application Server Portal GUI as an administrator.

2. Click the Administer tab.

3. Under the Services portlet, click Global Settings.

4. Click the Cache tab.

5. Clear the Enable Web Cache For Caching Portal Content box to disable the Web Cache.


6. Click the Apply button.

Figure 1.8 Disabling the Portal Web Cache

Changing the default portThe next step is to change the default port for the Oracle 10g Portal server to 80.

If you are using the BIG-IP LTM to offload SSL traffic, change the default port to 443.

To change the default port

1. Log on to your Oracle Application Server Portal GUI through Enterprise Manager as an administrator.

2. Under System Components, click HTTP Server.

3. Click the Administration Tab.

4. Click the Server Properties link.

5. In the Listening Addresses and Ports section, change the default port to 80. If you are using the BIG-IP LTM for SSL offload, change the port to 443 (see Figure 1.9).

Figure 1.9 Changing the default port for Oracle 10g Portal

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6. Click the Apply button

7. At the prompt, click to restart the service.

Adding the virtual host entry for the BIG-IP LTM virtual serverThe next step is to add a virtual host entry on the Oracle device for the BIG-IP LTM virtual server. This ensures that traffic is properly routed to the BIG-IP LTM system.

To add a virtual host entry

1. Log on to your Oracle Application Server Portal GUI through Enterprise Manager as an administrator. (If you are already logged in, return to the HTTP Server page).


2. Click the Virtual Hosts tab.

3. Click the Create button. The Create Virtual Host wizard opens.

a) In Step One of the virtual Host wizard, click Next.

b) In Step 2, make sure that the Virtual Host is set to Name-based (this is the default setting).

c) In Step 3, in the Server Name box, type the DNS name that resolves to the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server on the BIG-IP LTM system (the virtual server you created in Creating the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server, on page 1-11), and then click the Next button.

Important: This is not the name of the virtual server itself, it is the name that resolves to the virtual server in DNS; check with your DNS administrator

.

Figure 1.10 Adding the BIG-IP virtual server DNS name


d) In Step 4, make sure that Listen on a specific port is selected. From the list, select 7778. Click the Next button.

Figure 1.11 Selecting the Port

e) In Step 6 (Step 5 does not appear), click Next.

f) In Step 7, click Finish.

4. Restart the service by clicking Yes at the prompt.

Making sure the server responds on port 80The next step is to configure the Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) so that it returns the correct URLs to the user on port 80. If you are using the BIG-IP LTM for SSL offload of the Portal servers, this is port 443.

This procedure must be performed from the command line.

To configure the Oracle service to respond on port 80

1. Log on to the Oracle 10g Portal Server from the command line as the Oracle user.

2. Open the httpd.conf file ($ORACLE_HOME/Apache/Apache/conf/httpd.conf) in a text editor, such as VI or PICO.

3. Find the Virtual Host entry at the bottom of the file.

4. Create a Port Directive for the virtual host by adding Port 80 to the entry (port 443 if the BIG-IP LTM system is offloading SSL from the Portal devices). Add the following:

Port 80

The entry should look like this when you are finished:

<VirtualHost *:7778> ServerName portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com Port 80</VirtualHost>

Note that the ServerName example above will be different in your deployment.

5. Optional: If you are using the BIG-IP LTM system to offload SSL from the Oracle 10g Portal device, you need to add another line immediately following the line you just entered:

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SimulateHttps on

So the final result of the Virtual Host entry for offloading SSL should look like:

<VirtualHost *:7778> ServerName portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com Port 443 SimulateHttps on</VirtualHost>

You must also add the following LoadModule line at the end of the LoadModule entries in the httpd.conf file:

LoadModule certheaders_module libexec/mod_certheaders.so

6. Save and close the httpd.conf file.

7. Restart your web server. For simplicity, we recommend you restart the web server through the Oracle Enterprise Manager.

You must repeat all of these procedures for each Oracle 10g Portal server in your configuration. Return to Modifying the Oracle 10g Portal configuration, on page 1-18 to start again.

There is an additional procedure necessary if you are using the BIG-IP LTM for offloading SSL from the Oracle 10g Portal devices, after completing the following section for Oracle Single Sign-On.

Modifying the Oracle 10g Single Sign-On configurationIn the following procedures, we configure the Oracle 10g SSO service to use the BIG-IP LTM system.

Deleting the SSO Partner ApplicationThe first procedure in this configuration is to delete the SSO Partner Application, before adding it back. It is necessary to delete the SSO Partner application because the Site ID field is not editable, and the login URL will change.

To delete the SSO Partner Application

8. Log on to the Oracle 10g Single Sign-On Server as an administrator.

9. Click the Single Sign-On Server Administration link.

10. Click the Administer Partner Applications link.

11. In the Edit/Delete Partner Application section, click the Delete button for the SSO Partner Application (SSO Server (orasso).

12. On the Delete Partner Application confirmation page, click OK.


Configuring a new Single Sign-On URL for partner applicationsThe next step is to configure a new Single Sign-On URL for partner applications. This procedure requires a manual command line entry on Single Sign-On server.

Tip

The following procedure is also a manual command line entry, so you can remain logged on to the command line after you complete this procedure.

To configure a new Single Sign-On URL

1. Log on to the Oracle Single Sign-On device from the command line as the Oracle user.

2. Type the following command to change directories:

cd $ORACLE_HOME/sso/bin

3. Use the following syntax to create the new URL:

./ssocfg.sh https <DNS name of LTM SSO virtual server> 443

For example:

./ssocfg.sh https login.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com 443

Registering the SSO server as a Partner ApplicationThe next step is to register the Single Sign-On server as a Partner Application. This procedure also requires a manual command line entry on Single Sign-On server. If you are already logged on from the previous procedure, you can skip to Step 3.

For more information on this command, see Oracle MetaLink article ID#315053.1

To register the SSO server as a partner application

1. Log on to the Oracle Single Sign-On device from the command line as the Oracle user.


cd $ORACLE_HOME/sso/bin


./ssoreg.sh -site_name ’SSO Server orasso’ -mod_osso_url <DNS name of LTM SSO virtual server> -config_mod_osso TRUE -oracle_home_path $ORACLE_HOME -config_file $ORACLE_HOME/Apache/Apache/conf/osso/osso.conf -admin_info ’cn=orcladmin’ -virtualhost

For example:

./ssoreg.sh -site_name ’SSO Server orasso’ -mod_osso_url https://login.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com -config_mod_osso TRUE -oracle_home_path $ORACLE_HOME -config_file $ORACLE_HOME/Apache/Apache/conf/osso/osso.conf -admin_info ’cn=orcladmin’ -virtualhost

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Changing the default port to port 443The next procedure is to change the default port of the Single Sign-On Server to port 443. For more information on this procedure, see Oracle MetaLink ID #315200.1.

To change the default port

1. Log on to your Oracle Application Server SSO Infrastructure GUI through Enterprise Manager as an administrator.


3. Click the Administration Tab.

4. Click the Server Properties link.

5. In the Listening Addresses and Ports section, change the default port to 443.

6. Click the Apply button

7. At the prompt, click to restart the service.

Adding the virtual host entry for the BIG-IP LTM virtual serverThe next step is to add a virtual host entry on the Oracle device for the BIG-IP LTM virtual server.

To add a virtual host entry

1. Log on to your Oracle SSO GUI through Enterprise Manager as an administrator. If you are already logged in, return to the HTTP Server page.


2. Click the Virtual Hosts tab.

3. Click the Create button. The Create Virtual Host wizard opens.

a) In Step One of the virtual Host wizard, click Next.

b) In Step 2, make sure that the Virtual Host is set to name-based (this is the default setting).

c) In Step 3, in the Server Name box, type the DNS name that resolves to the virtual server on the BIG-IP LTM system for Single Sign On. In our example, it’s the DNS name for the virtual server we created in Creating the Single Sign-On virtual server, on page 1-17.

d) In Step 4, make sure that Listen on specific port is selected. From the list, select 7777.

e) In Step 6 (Step 5 does not appear), click Next.

f) In Step 7, click Finish.

4. Restart the service by clicking Yes at the prompt.


Making sure the server responds on port 443The next step is to configure the Oracle 10g SSO device to respond on port 443. If you do not make this change, the URLs will retain the original port (such as 7777).

This procedure must be performed from the command line.

To configure the Oracle service to respond on port 443

1. Log on to the Oracle device from the command line as an administrator.

2. Open the httpd.conf file ($ORACLE_HOME/Apache/Apache/conf/httpd.conf) in a text editor, such as VI or PICO.

3. Find the end of the LoadModule entries, and add the following line:

LoadModule certheaders_module libexec/mod_certheaders.so

We load this file in order for the SimulateHttps on directive to work in the VirtualHost directive in the following step.

4. Find the Virtual Host entry at the bottom of the file, and add the following lines to the Virtual Host entry:

Port 443SimulateHttps on

So the final result if you are offloading SSL should look like:

<VirtualHost *:7778> ServerName login.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com Port 443 SimulateHttps on</VirtualHost>

5. Save and close the httpd.conf file.

6. Restart your web server. We recommend you restart the web server through the Oracle Enterprise Manager

Configuring the SSO URL for Oracle DASIn this section, we configure the new SSO url for Oracle Directory Administration Server (DAS). You can find more information on this procedure in Oracle Metalink Article ID#302634.1

To configure the SSL URL for Oracle DAS

1. Login to Oracle Directory Manager (OID console).

2. Navigate to the following directory:

Oracle Internet Directory Servers cn=orcladmin@OID_hostname:OID_port Entry Management cn=OracleContext

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cn=Products cn=DAS cn=OperationalURLs

3. Under the property orcldasurlbase, replace the URL with the name that resolves to the SSO virtual server on the BIG-LTM in DNS (see Figure 1.12).

4. Click Apply.

5. Restart the Single Sign-On server.

Figure 1.12 Adding the DNS name of the SSO virtual server to Oracle DAS

Configuring Oracle 10g Portal to use the new SSO URLNow that we have successfully configured Oracle 10g Portal and Single Sign-On with URLs that are direct traffic through the BIG-IP LTM system, we need to configure the Oracle 10g Portal servers to use the new SSL-enabled SSO URL (the name that resolves to the SSO virtual server on the BIG-LTM in DNS).


To add the SSO URL to the 10g Portal configuration

1. Log on to your Oracle Single Sign-On server, using the new Single Sign-On URL (the URL that resolves to the SSO virtual server on the BIG-IP LTM.

2. Click the Single Sign-On Server Administration link.

3. Click the Administer Partner Applications link.

4. In the Edit/Delete Partner Application section, click the Delete button for the Portal Partner Application (Oracle Portal (portal).

5. On the Delete Partner Application confirmation page, click OK.

Registering the Portal server as a Partner ApplicationThe final procedure is to (re)register the Portal server as a Partner Application. This procedure also requires a manual command line entry on Single Sign-On server. If you are already logged on from the previous procedure, you can skip to Step 3.

To register the Portal server as a Partner Application

1. Log on to the Oracle 10g Portal device from the command line as an administrator.


cd $ORACLE_HOME/portal/conf


./ptlconfig -dad portal -sso -host <DNS name of BIG-IP LTM Portal virtual server> -port 80

For example:

./ptlconfig -dad portal -sso -host portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com -port 80

4. Optional: If you configured the BIG-IP LTM system to offload SSL from the Portal devices, the port in the preceding command would be 443. For example:

./ptlconfig -dad portal -sso -host portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com -port 443

After completing the Oracle 10g modifications, log on to Enterprise Manager for the Oracle 10g Portal and restart all services. You must restart each Portal server, however you only need to run this command on one server.

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Appendix A: Backing up and restoring the BIG-IP system configuration

We recommend saving your BIG-IP configuration before you begin this configuration. When you save the BIG-IP configuration, it collects the following critical data and compress it into a single User Configuration Set (UCS) file:

• BIG-IP configuration files

• BIG-IP license and passwords

• SSL certificates

• SSH keys

Saving and restoring the BIG-IP configuration The Configuration Management screen allows you to save and restore all configuration files that you may edit to configure a BIG-IP system. These configuration files are called a User Configuration Set (UCS). The Configuration Management screen contains sections for saving and restoring a configuration. The list boxes in these sections display only files in the /usr/local/ucs directory. If you want to save or restore files from another directory, you must type the full path in the box.

To save the BIG-IP configuration using the Configuration utility

1. In the navigation pane, click System Admin.The User Administration screen displays.

2. Click the Configuration Management tab.The Configuration Management screen displays.

3. In the Save Current Configuration section, type the path where you want your configuration file saved or choose a path from the list box. If no path is specified, the BIG-IP saves files to /usr/local/ucs. The BIG-IP appends the extension.ucs to file names without it. In our example, we type pre_10g_backup.ucs.

4. Click the Save button to save the configuration file.

To restore a BIG-IP configuration

1. In the navigation pane, click System Admin.The User Administration screen displays.

2. Click the Configuration Management tab.The Configuration Management screen displays.


3. In the Restore a Configuration section, choose the configuration file you want to restore from the list box, or type the path where your configuration files were saved.

4. Click the Restore button. To check the status of the restoration, click the View Log button. You should wait a few moments for the log file to start generating before you click View Log. Repeated clicking of this button will update your screen with the most current log file information until the restoration is complete.

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2

Configuring the BIG-IP WebAccelerator module for accelerating Oracle AS 10g

• Configuring the WebAccelerator module

• Creating an HTTP Class profile

• Modifying the Virtual Server to use the Class profile

• Creating an Application

Configuring the BIG-IP WebAccelerator module for accelerating Oracle Application Server 10g

Important

The following procedures are optional, and only applicable if you have purchased and licensed the WebAccelerator module on the BIG-IP LTM system.

F5 WebAccelerator module is an advanced web application delivery solution that provides a series of intelligent technologies designed to overcome problems with browsers, web application platforms and WAN latency issues which impact user performance.

To configure the WebAccelerator module, you must create an HTTP Class profile, modify the virtual server to use this profile, and create an Application on the WebAccelerator module.

Prerequisites and configuration notesThe following are prerequisites for this section:

◆ We assume that you have already configured the BIG-IP LTM system for directing traffic to the Oracle 10g devices as described in Chapter 1 of this Deployment Guide.

◆ You must have purchased and licensed the WebAccelerator module on the BIG-IP LTM system, version 9.4 or later.

◆ If you are using the BIG-IP LTM version 9.4.2 or later, you must have created an HTTP profile on the BIG-IP LTM system that has RAM Cache enabled. In our example (Creating an HTTP profile, on page 1-8) we use a parent profile that includes RAM Cache. If you did not create an HTTP profile with RAM Cache enabled, you must create a new HTTP profile, based on a parent profile that uses RAM Cache (we recommend HTTP Acceleration) and associate it with the virtual server. This is only required for BIG-IP LTM version 9.4.2 and later.

◆ This document is written with the assumption that you are familiar with the BIG-IP LTM system, WebAccelerator and Oracle 10g. Consult the appropriate documentation for detailed information.

Configuration exampleUsing the configuration in this section, the BIG-IP LTM system with WebAccelerator module is optimally configured to accelerate traffic to Oracle Application Server 10g devices. The BIG-IP LTM with WebAccelerator module both increases end user performance as well as offloads the servers from serving repetitive and duplicate content.

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In this configuration, a remote client with WAN latency accesses Oracle 10g via the WebAccelerator. The user’s request is accelerated on repeat visits by the WebAccelerator instructing the browser to use the dynamic or static object that is stored in its local cache. Additionally, dynamic and static objects are cached at the WebAccelerator so that they can be served quickly without requiring the server to re-serve the same objects.

For a visual representation, see Figure 1.1 on page 1-2.

Configuring the WebAccelerator moduleConfiguring the WebAccelerator module requires creating an HTTP class profile, creating an Application, and modifying the BIG-IP LTM virtual server to use the HTTP class. The WebAccelerator device has a large number of other features and options for fine tuning performance gains, see the WebAccelerator Administrator Guide for more information.

Creating an HTTP Class profileThe first procedure is to create an HTTP class profile. When incoming HTTP traffic matches the criteria you specify in the WebAccelerator class, the system diverts the traffic through this class. In the following example, we create a new HTTP class profile, based on the default profile.

To create a new HTTP class profile

1. On the Main tab, expand WebAccelerator, and then click Classes.The HTTP Class Profiles screen opens.

2. In the upper right portion of the screen, click the Create button. The New HTTP Class Profile screen opens.

3. In the Name box, type a name for this Class. In our example, we type oracle10g.

4. From the Parent Profile list, make sure httpclass is selected.

5. In the Configuration section, from the WebAccelerator row, make sure Enabled is selected.

6. In the Hosts row, from the list select Match Only. The Host List options appear.

a) In the Host box, type the domain name (FQDN) of your Oracle 10g Portal virtual server. In our example, we type portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com (see Figure 2.1).

b) Leave the Entry Type at Pattern String.

c) Click the Add button.

d) Repeat these sub-steps for the domain name of your Oracle 10g Single Sign-On virtual server.


7. The rest of the settings are optional, configure them as applicable for your deployment.

8. Click the Finished button. The new HTTP class is added to the list.

Figure 2.1 Creating a new HTTP Class profile

Modifying the Virtual Server to use the Class profileThe next step is to modify the virtual server on the BIG-IP LTM system to use the HTTP Class profile you just created.

To modify the Virtual Server to use the Class profile

1. On the Main tab, expand Local Traffic, and then click Virtual Servers. The Virtual Servers screen opens.

2. From the Virtual Server list, click the name of the virtual server you created for the Oracle 10g Portal in Creating the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server, on page 1-11. In our example, we click oracle10g-portal-vs.The General Properties screen for the Virtual Server opens.

3. On the Menu bar, click Resources.The Resources screen for the Virtual Server opens.

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4. In the HTTP Class Profiles section, click the Manage button.

5. From the Available list, select the name of the HTTP Class Profile you created in the preceding procedure, and click the Add (<<) button to move it to the Enabled box. In our example, we select oracle10g (see Figure 2.2).

6. Click the Finished button. The HTTP Class Profile is now associated with the Virtual Server.

Figure 2.2 Adding the HTTP Class Profile to the Virtual Server

7. Repeat these Steps for the Oracle 10g Single Sign-On virtual server.

Important

If you are using the BIG-IP LTM version 9.4.2 or later, you must have created an HTTP profile on the BIG-IP LTM system that has RAM Cache enabled. In our example (Creating an HTTP profile, on page 1-7) we use a parent profile that includes RAM Cache. If you did not create an HTTP profile with RAM Cache enabled, you must create a new HTTP profile, based on a parent profile that uses RAM Cache (such as HTTP Acceleration), and modify the virtual server to use this new profile. This is only required for BIG-IP LTM version 9.4.2 and later.

To create the HTTP profile, use Creating an HTTP profile, on page 1-7, selecting the HTTP Acceleration parent profile. You must leave RAM Cache enabled; all other settings are optional. To modify the virtual server, follow Steps 1 and 2 from the preceding procedure to access the virtual server, and then from the HTTP Profile list, select the name of the new profile you just created and click Update.

Creating an ApplicationThe next procedure is to create a WebAccelerator Application. The Application provides key information to the WebAccelerator so that it can handle requests to your application appropriately.


To create a new Application

1. On the Main tab, expand WebAccelerator, and then click Applications.The Application screen of the WebAccelerator UI opens in a new window.

2. Click the New Application button.

3. In the Application Name box, type a name for your application. In our example, we type oracle-10g.

4. In the Description box, you can optionally type a description for this application.

5. From the Local Policies list, select Oracle Portal. This is a pre-defined policy created specifically for Oracle devices.

6. In the Requested Host box, type the domain name (FQDN) of your Oracle Portal virtual server. In our example, we type portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com. This should be the same host name you used in Step 6a in the Creating an HTTP Class profile procedure.

7. Click the Add Host button, and enter the domain name of your Oracle SSO virtual server. In our example, we type login.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com

8. Click the Save button.

Figure 2.3 Configuring an Application on the WebAccelerator

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The rest of the configuration options on the WebAccelerator are optional, configure these as applicable for your network. With this base configuration, your end users will notice an marked improvement in performance after their first visit.


3

Deploying the FirePass controller with Oracle Application Server 10g

• Configuring the FirePass controller for deployment with Oracle Application Server 10g

• Creating groups on the FirePass controller

• Limiting access for the Partner group

• Configuring Endpoint security


This section of the Deployment Guide shows you how to configure F5’s FirePass controller for secure remote access to Oracle® Application Server 10g deployments. The FirePass controller can integrate seamlessly with Oracle Internet Directory (OID) to provide authentication, and simple user maintenance.

F5’s FirePass® controller is the industry leading SSL VPN solution that enables organizations of any size to provide ubiquitous secure access for employees, partners and customers to applications such as Oracle 10g Portal Server, while significantly lowering support costs associated with legacy client-based VPN solutions.

For more information on the FirePass controller, see http://www.f5.com/products/FirePass/.

Prerequisites and configuration notesThe following are prerequisites for this deployment:

◆ The FirePass controller should be running version 6.0 or later.

◆ This deployment was tested using Oracle Application Server 10g, load balanced by a BIG-IP LTM system as described in this Deployment Guide.

◆ All of the configuration procedures in this document are performed on the FirePass device.

◆ This configuration uses previously defined Oracle Internet Directory (OID) accounts. For information on how to configure OID, consult the Oracle documentation.

◆ This Deployment Guide contains procedures for using LDAP (OID) authentication only. There are other authentication methods you can use with the FirePass controller; choose the one most applicable to your configuration.

◆ This Deployment Guide is written to the scenario outlined in the following section. It is meant to be a template; modify the configuration as necessary for your deployment.

Configuration scenarioFor the scenario used in this Deployment Guide, the Oracle 10g deployment, along with an OID instance, resides behind a BIG-IP LTM system. There is a requirement to allow employees remote access to all internal resources

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http://www.f5.com/products/FirePass/


using the FirePass device. There is also a requirement for trusted partners to access the Oracle 10g deployment, although only to a limited subset of the portal, with no other access.

This Deployment Guide describes how to configure the FirePass controller to allow secure remote access to the Oracle 10g Portal device(s), using OID for authentication, and how to configure the FirePass to give one group of users full access, and restrict users in the partner group to a certain directory. This guide also contains procedures on configuring some endpoint security features, including antivirus checks. For a visual representation of the deployment, see Figure 1.1 on page 1-2.

Configuring the FirePass controller for deployment with Oracle Application Server 10g

To configure the FirePass controller for allowing secure remote access to the Oracle 10g deployment, you need to complete the following procedures:

• Connecting to the FirePass controller

• Creating groups on the FirePass controller

• Limiting access for the Partner group

• Configuring Endpoint security

Connecting to the FirePass controllerTo perform the procedures in this Deployment Guide you must have administrative access to the FirePass controller.

To access the Administrative console, in a browser, type the URL of the FirePass controller followed by /admin/, and log in with the administrator’s user name and password.

Once you are logged on as an administrator, the Device Management screen of the Configuration utility opens. From here, you can configure and monitor the FirePass controller.

Creating groups on the FirePass controllerIn this configuration, we configure two types of groups on the FirePass controller, Resource and Master groups. Master groups contain user information, including details about authentication methods. Resource groups contain information about applications (resources) that are available to FirePass controller users.


Creating the Resource groups

Resource groups allow you to preconfigure specific applications and access by group, and assign the group to a master group or an individual user. For this configuration, we create two resource groups, one for employees and one for partners, in order to create different access levels to the Oracle 10g Portal server.

To configure a resource group

1. From the navigation pane, click Users, expand Groups, and then click Resource Groups.

2. Click the Create new group button.The Group Management - Create New Group screen opens.

3. In the New group name box, type a name for your group and click the Create button. In our example we type employees-oracle. The new group appears on the Resource Groups table.

4. From the Resource Groups table, find the row with the name of the group you just created. In this row, from the Portal access column, click Edit (see Figure 3.1). The Web Applications section of the Resource Group page opens.

Figure 3.1 The Resource groups table

5. Under Web Application Favorites, click Add New Favorite. The Favorite options display.

6. Type a name for the Favorite. In our example, we type Oracle Portal - Employee. This Favorite link only displays for members of the Employee group.

7. In the URL box, type the URL used to access the Oracle 10g Portal Server. If you are using a BIG-IP LTM system in front of the Oracle 10g deployment, this URL should resolve to the Oracle 10g Portal virtual server address in DNS. In our example, we type http://portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com.

8. Click the Add to allow list link to the right of the URL box. This adds the URL to the list of URLs the users are allowed to access.

9. Configure the rest of the settings as applicable to your deployment.

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10. Click the Add New button. The new Favorite is added to the list (see Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2 Adding a Web Application Favorite to the Employee group

11. Repeat this entire procedure for the Partner resource group, typing appropriate names for the group and the Favorite. In our example, we type partners-oracle for the Resource Group name, and Oracle 10g Portal - Partners for the Favorite name.

In Step 7, type the path to the appropriate section of the Oracle 10g deployment that Partners are entitled to access. For example, the employee Favorite might point to http://portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com

while the partner Favorite would point to http://portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com/partners/.

Creating the Master groups

FirePass controller master groups are composed of users, authentication methods, and security and policy information. The next task is to create Master groups that will use the resource groups we just created.


To create a new Master Group

1. From the navigation pane, click Users, and expand Groups.The Master Groups list screen opens.

2. Click the Create new group button.The Group Management Create New Group screen opens.

3. In the New group name box, type the name of your group. In our example we type Oracle10g-OID-employee.

4. In the Users in group box, select External.

5. From the Authentication method list, select LDAP.

6. In the Copy settings from list, make sure Do not copy is selected (see Figure 3.3).

7. Click the Create button.The General tab of the new Master Group displays.

Figure 3.3 Creating a new Master Group for employees

8. Click the Resource Groups tab.The Resource Groups screen opens.

9. From the Available box, select the name of the Resource group you created in the Creating the Resource groups section. In our example, we select employees-oracle.

10. Click the Add button to move the group to the Selected box, and click the Update button. The Resource group is now associated with the Master group.

11. Repeat this procedure to create a new Master group for the Partner resource group. When creating this group, in the Copy Settings From list, select the Master group you just created. This way, the authentication settings are automatically created. In our example, we name this group Oracle10g-OID-partners. In Step 9, we select the partners-oracle Resource group.

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Configuring the Master group for Oracle Internet Directory (LDAP) authentication

The next procedure is configuring the Master group to use OID (LDAP) authentication.

To configure the FirePass Master group to use LDAP authentication

1. From the navigation pane, click Users, expand Groups, and then click Master Groups.

2. Click the name of the Master group you created in the Creating the Master groups section. In our example, we select oracle10g-OID-employee.

3. Click the Authentication tab.The LDAP Authentication tab opens.

4. In the Host box, type the host name of your Oracle OID server. In our example, we type oid.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com.

5. In the Port box, type the port for the Oracle OID server. In our example we type 636.

6. Check the Use SSL connection box. If you are not using SSL, the port in the preceding Step may be 389.

7. In the User DN using template box, type the user DN template. In our example, we type:

cn=%logon%,cn=users,dc=oraclearn,dc=tc,dc=f5net,dc=com

8. You can optionally click Test to test the OID authentication.

9. Click the Save Settings button.

10. Repeat this procedure for the oracle10g-OID-partners group.


Figure 3.4 Configuring the Authentication settings

Limiting access for the Partner groupThe FirePass controller allows you to limit access for specific groups on a very granular level. In this scenario, we limit access for the Partner group to only the Favorite we configured earlier, as well as restricting the areas of Oracle 10g Portal server they can access by URL.

To limit access for the Partner group

1. From the navigation pane, click Portal Access.

2. Under Web Applications, click Master Group Settings.

3. From the Master Group list at the top of the page, select the Master Group you created in the Creating the Master groups section. In our example, we select Oracle10g-OID-partners.The configuration settings for the Master group open.

4. In the Access limitation section, make sure there is a check in the Show administrator-defined favorites only box.

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5. In the Access Control Lists section, configure URL pattern matches to allow and deny based on your deployment. In our example, we type the following (separated by commas) in the Allow box to restrict the Partner group to these areas of our Oracle 10g Portal deployment:

http://portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com/partners/*https://portal.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com/partners/*http://login.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com/*https://login.oraclearn.tc.f5net.com/*

6. We leave the Deny box blank, which allows access to all URLs that pass the allow test (see Figure 3.5). The FirePass checks the deny list, then looks for matches in the allow list, then takes the default action. For more information on configuring the Access Control section, see the online help.

7. Click the Update button. The new settings take effect after any users currently logged onto the FirePass controller log out.

Figure 3.5 Restricting access to the Oracle 10g Portal deployment

Configuring Endpoint securityOne of the strong security features of the FirePass controller is the ability to set endpoint security on a extremely granular level.


In the following procedures, we configure a pre-logon check for anti-virus software on Windows machines. The FirePass controller uses this information to deny Oracle access for members of the Partner Resource group if they do not have the appropriate software. In this configuration example, the FirePass device also denies access to any client that is determined to have a virus.

For more information on endpoint security, see the online help.

Creating a pre-logon sequence

The pre-logon sequence allows administrators to create one or more sequences of inspections for items such as installed antivirus programs or OS patch levels.

To configure a pre-logon sequence

1. From the navigation pane, click Users, expand Endpoint Security, and click Pre-Logon Sequence.

2. In the New Sequence section at the bottom of the page, type a name for the sequence in the Create New Sequence box. In our example, we type OracleBasic.

3. From the Based on list, select template: Collect information with no pre-logon actions.

4. Click the Create button.The new sequence appears in the Select Sequence to Use table.

5. In the row of the sequence you just created, click the Edit button.Warning - Do not click the radio button next to the sequence yet. If you click the radio button, the Edit link will be replaced with the View link, and you are not able to edit the sequence.

The Pre-Logon Sequence Editor opens.

6. Move the curser between Sequence Start and the box. A small add [+] link appears on the arrow (see the circle marked 1 in Figure 3.6). Click Add.The Change Sequence panel appears on the right.

7. Click the Check for Antiviruses option button, and click the Apply Changes button.The Edit Action panel opens.

Note: The Check for Antiviruses is an optional feature on the FirePass controller. If your device does not have this license, you will not see this option.

8. Under Inspectors, click Windows Antivirus Checker.The Endpoint Inspector Details page opens in a new window.

9. Configure these options as applicable for your deployment. For more information, click Help.

10. Click the Update button.

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11. In the Sequence pane, find AV installed, and click the associated Logon Denied Page link (see the circle marked 2 in Figure 3.6).The End Page Properties pane appears on the right.

12. From the Type box, select Logon Allowed Page. This allows a user to logon if they have an antivirus checker installed. You can optionally type a message for failed logons.

13. Repeat steps 11 and 12 for the Fallback option.

14. Optional: You can click the Logon Allowed Page or Logon Denied Page links for the other options to produce a custom message when a user is denied access. You can also change the actions taken as a result of the virus checker’s findings. For example, you might still want to allow a user to login if there is virus checking software installed, but not currently running.

In our example, we click Logon Denied Page next to Virus Detected, and type a message informing the user there is a virus on their computer.

15. When you are finished, click Back to Console in the upper right corner of the screen (see the circle marked 3 in the following figure).You return to the Pre-Logon Sequence main page.

Figure 3.6 The Pre-Logon Sequence Editor

16. From the Select Sequence to Use section, click the option button next to the sequence you just created. In our example, we click OracleBasic.

17. Click the Apply button.

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Protected Configurations

Protected Configurations allow administrators to specify the criteria the endpoint systems must meet to enable access to the various resources. In this procedure, we create a protected configuration for the partner group in order make additional security requirements for that group.

To configure Protected Configurations

1. From the navigation pane, click Users, expand Endpoint Security, and click Protected Configurations.

2. Click New Protection Configuration.

3. In the Protected configuration ID box, type a name for this configuration. In our example, we type Partner_config. You can optionally type a description.

4. Leave the Mode list at the default setting, Check endpoint protection, grant access if check passed (see Figure 3.7).

Figure 3.7 The General tab of the Protected Endpoint Configuration screen

5. Click the Protected Criteria tab.

6. On the menu bar, click Information Leaks.

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7. From the Required safety measures or checks list, select Cache Cleaner and click the Add button. This will remove content from the cache when a user logs off.

Figure 3.8 The Protection Criteria tab of the Protected Endpoint Configuration screen

Important: The Cache Cleaner feature is currently Windows only. It does not work with Apple Macintosh or Linux systems.

8. On the menu bar, click Virus Attack

9. From the list, select Antivirus and click the Add button.

10. Click the I icon next to Antivirus to configure the antivirus properties (see Figure 3.9). The Select trusted anti-viruses screen opens. Configure these properties as applicable for your configuration, and click the Save button.

You return to the Protection Criteria tab of the Protected Endpoint Configuration page.

11. Click the Save button.

Figure 3.9 The Edit button for Antivirus properties


Protecting the Resources

The next step is to associate the protected configuration you just created with a resource.

To protect the resources

1. From the navigation pane, click Users, expand Endpoint Security, and click Protect Resources.

2. From the Resource Table, expand Web Applications.

3. Find the Partners resource group (in our example, partners-oracle), and click the Select link next to the Favorite you configured.

4. From the Configuration to protect selected resources list, select the name of the configuration you created in the preceding procedure. In our example, we select Partner_config.

5. From the Protected Configuration list, select the name of the configuration you created in the preceding procedure. In our example, we type Partner_config.

6. Click the Select button. A shield image appears in the row.

Figure 3.10 Adding the Protected Configuration to the Resource

Configuring post-logon actions

The final step is to configure a post-logon action in which the FirePass device injects an Active X control or plug-in to clean the client browser’s web cache.

To configure the post-logon action

1. From the navigation pane, click Users, expand Endpoint Security, and click Post-Logon Actions.

2. Click a check in the Inject ActiveX/Plugin to clean-up client browser web cache box. A list of options displays.

3. Configure these options as applicable for your deployment. In our example, we leave these options at their default settings.

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ConclusionThe FirePass controller is now configured to allow secure remote access to the Oracle Application Server 10g deployments. Remember that the procedures in this Deployment Guide are specific to the scenario described in Configuration scenario, on page 3-1. Use this guide as a template, and modify the configuration as applicable to your deployment.


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